The largest number of English native speakers live in:
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United States (250 million)
United Kingdom (61 million)
Canada (18 million)
Australia (15 million)
Ireland (4 million)
South Africa (4 million)
New Zealand (3 million)
Statue of Liberty in New York
Why did English become the world language?
Why English became the most important world language is an interesting question. Even before English emerged as a global language, French was used as the main international language in Europe.
The rise of English as the most important world language began in the 19th century. At that time, the British Empire with all its colonies included up to one third of the world's population.
After 1945, the supremacy of the USA was the main reason for the further spread of English as a universal language. This was helped enormously by the new mass media such as television and the Internet.
The English Big Ben Tower in London
Other interesting facts about the
English language
- Over 80% of all electronically stored information worldwide is in English.
- English is a Germanic language with a lot of influence from Romance languages such as French and Latin.
- The split of the English language from other Germanic languages occurred about 1500 years ago.
- Of all the languages, Frisian in the Netherlands and Northern Germany is the most closely related language to English.
